Thinking Machines Lab Cofounder Departures: OpenAI Returnees

January 14, 2026

Mira Murati said Thinking Machines Lab had parted ways with CTO Barret Zoph; OpenAI then announced that Zoph, Luke Metz and Sam Schoenholz were returning.

Thinking Machines Lab OpenAI

Sources

TechCrunch

News · Jan 14, 2026

Mira Murati's startup, Thinking Machines Lab, is losing two of its co-founders to OpenAI

Additional sources

Brendon Beebe

Retrospective · Jan 18, 2026

Thinking Machines Lab: Timeline of the $2B Seed Round, Tinker, and the January 2026 OpenAI Exodus

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